


The Moon Will Sing

by landofhorses



Category: The Hunger - Alma Katsu
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Find James Reed a Man Who'll Treat him Right Challenge, M/M, Non-Graphic Description of Cannon Domestic Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landofhorses/pseuds/landofhorses
Summary: There James Reed stood, hands covered in blood and chest heaving, a wild look in his eyes. On the ground laid the body of one John Snyder, a teamster that Stanton had never particularly cared for. Snyder was far too fond of cruelty for Stanton’s tastes, using his size to bully those who he’d viewed as smaller and weaker than him. The incident with poor Halloran’s dog came to mind, along with many others. Reed had taken the brunt of much of Snyder’s abuse, come to think of it, and the poor state of the man’s face before the fight occurred had it’s own story to tell no matter how much Reed might like to deny it.
Relationships: James Reed/Charles Stanton
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	The Moon Will Sing

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic is from The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives, a James Reed song if I have ever heard one.

There James Reed stood, hands covered in blood and chest heaving, a wild look in his eyes. On the ground laid the body of one John Snyder, a teamster that Stanton had never particularly cared for. Snyder was far too fond of cruelty for Stanton’s tastes, using his size to bully those who he’d viewed as smaller and weaker than him. The incident with poor Halloran’s dog came to mind, along with many others. Reed had taken the brunt of much of Snyder’s abuse, come to think of it, and the poor state of the man’s face before the fight occurred had it’s own story to tell no matter how much Reed might like to deny it.

Everybody else that was gathered around the scene was ready to kill Reed for what he’d done, but couldn’t the see what Stanton could? There was clearly more to this situation than was plainly visible, perhaps they didn’t care enough to see it. People didn’t like Snyder, but neither did they much care for Reed.

Lewis Keseberg had since forced Reed to his knees and was the main driving force behind the calls for Reed’s death. It made sense, the men had been friends and more alike then they were different. Keseberg was another bully of a man, one whose domineering leering over Reed’s slouched form made Stanton feel on edge.

He wanted to do something, anything, but what could he do? Nobody was liable to listen to him, it was like everybody went deaf at the sound of common sense. That was everybody besides Reed of course, and now they were going to kill him.

Idiots, each and every one of them.

Reed’s death was certain, the feeble attempts of others to sway Keseberg weren’t working. That was, however, until Tamsen almost as if appearing out of nowhere, spoke up with another suggestion.

“Banish him.” Her voice sent shivers down Stanton’s spine, whether this was out of fear or something else, he couldn’t say. “It’s God’s place to judge him, not ours.” She looked in Stanton’s direction, their eyes meeting for a few moments. Something in them made his stomach turn, he looked away quickly unable to stand it. “For those of you who think this is too lenient a punishment, just remember: A man can’t survive out there on his own. Sending him out is as good as a death sentence.”

She was right, to send out a man alone without any supplies was just as good as putting a bullet between his eyes. Likely worse in fact, while Stanton had never had the displeasure of going without food or drink, he had heard it was an unpleasant, cruel kind of death. It wasn’t one that James Reed deserved, if he deserved one at all, and for a moment it seemed like it wasn’t the one he was getting. That was until Reed’s wife, Margaret, spoke, practically begged for mercy for her husband, and perhaps some form of it was granted with George Donner’s final words.

“He goes with nothing-no horse, no food.” With that, and some final menacing from Keseberg, Reed left, walked out in the middle of the night still battered and bloody, alone.

It wouldn’t stand, not if Stanton had anything to say about it. He was fed up and through with these people and their bullshit, he no longer cared about what happened to them. It almost seemed like they were asking for death, with how they threw away every good thing that God had seen fit to grant them.

It was not long before he too slipped away into the darkness, hopefully this would be the last they’d see of him.

~*~

It had not taken long for Stanton to pack his belongings; he had done it quickly to ensure that distance between him and Reed would remain small. Not that he’d have been able to get very far, both on foot and injured as he was. He felt another spike of anger course through him at the thought, why hadn’t the saw fit to allow the man to take one of his own animals? It was needless is what it was, they should have just shot him if they wanted him dead, they clearly didn’t see fit to give him a fighting chance. Not that what little, or nothing rather, they had allowed him to take would matter soon, Stanton was ready to right their wrong.

Once everything was ready, his horse saddled and loaded with as many provisions he thought he’d be able to safely carry, he felt practically nothing. It was strange, his protestations for not leaving with Bryant when he had asked had long since ceased to matter, the possessions that he was leaving behind didn’t matter, couldn’t matter if he died.

That was what would happen if he stayed.

Trying to protect these people had always been a fool’s errand, he had to quit while he was ahead. If he managed to catch up with Reed, and he had to, didn’t know what he’d do with himself if he couldn’t, they’d make it back to some semblance of civilization together.

He knew they could do it together.

~*~

In a short while he mounted his horse, it only took a little bit more to find Reed. Surprisingly enough the man was mounted atop a horse of his own, a creature with a chestnut pelt and previously a thing of beauty. Its regal features had complimented its owner, a man prone to frivolity, but now it looked mangy, weak, and uncared for. It still matched its rider, Reed had curled in on himself the best he could while remaining on top the animal, a pitiful sight and one that Stanton didn’t much care for. The man still hadn’t noticed Stanton’s approach and he wasn’t exactly being quiet.

“Hey There!” He hollered, Reed jumped and nearly fell off his horse in his haste to see who it was that called out to him. He halted the animal, back straightening, the anxiety he was prone to clearly bubbling within him. He made no sound, no move to acknowledge Stanton’s appearance, perhaps thinking that if he keeps still enough, silent enough, the other man would move on. Stanton hadn’t meant to startle Reed; he had come out here to help after all. “I ain’t gonna cause you any trouble, I promise.”

Reed didn’t look like he quite believed him, his brown eyes seemed to narrowed with suspicion as Stanton moved his horse to rest besides his. The animal stamped its foot and attempt to walk away, not caring much for this forced proximity to its newfound companion, but Stanton held it steady. He needed Reed to see, to understand.

“I only came out here to help.”

“I don’t need your help.” Reed spoke softly, all of his usual bluster had fled him, leaving only nothingness in its place.

“It’s dangerous out here, and doubly so when you’re by yourself. Don’t be an idiot now Reed.” That was bait and Stanton knew it, but he couldn’t stand the dead eyed look on the man’s face any longer. The anger, however, never came. Reed’s gaze remained fixed on some place off in the distance, the white-knuckled grip he had on his reins only seemed to tighten.

“I killed a man, don’t you care?”

“No.” This was the truth. Even if Stanton didn’t suspect that there was more to the story than Reed had let on, he couldn’t have found it within himself to care. The only thing that currently mattered to him was Reed, and here he was trying to send Stanton away.

Reed sent a shocked look in Stanton’s direction, the first time he’d seen fit to set his eyes in Stanton’s direction since his arrival. The one that wasn’t blackened was puffy and red-rimmed, as if he’d been crying.

The man turned away quickly, apparently unable to stomach Stanton’s scrutiny.

“Leave.” Reed attempted to speak with authority, it fell flat.

“No.” If Reed was stubborn so was Stanton.

Reed huffed, openly glaring at Stanton now. Its effect was minimized by the pitiful state of his face, which only made Stanton want to stay more. He was glad to see some of his liveliness return to Reed, he had begun to worry.

It only lasted a moment, soon Reed closed himself off once more. The two sat in silence, neither of them sure of where to go from here.

“I won’t be telling you why I did it.” Reed muttered finally; it would have been inaudible had Stanton not been paying such close attention.

“I don’t expect you too.” Replied Stanton, and he didn’t. A man was entitled to his secrets.

Reed gave a nod of his head and kicked the side of his horse with the heel of his foot, making the beast start at a leisurely pace. Stanton followed, eager to put as much distance between them and the rest of the group as possible.

~*~

“I had told him that it had to stop.” Said Reed, who was James now, quietly one night only a week later, apropos to nothing.

“Who?”

“Snyder.” The man said like it should be obvious, and perhaps it should have been, but Stanton had found himself quite distracted, his leg being pressed against James’s as it was. He had always been so careful to put distance between himself and Stanton, even as they had grown closer, and Stanton had learned to savor these moments between them before James could remember and right himself.

“What had to stop?” Stanton asked, properly paying attention now. He couldn’t deny the fact that he was curious as to what caused the man to snap as he had. He was quiet for a long moment, fidgety and nervous. Stanton could feel the anxiety thrumming within him, James still hadn’t moved himself away.

“We had a relationship of a sort.” Is what James settled for, but Stanton was still confused. James was sending nervous glances in his direction and had shifted himself as far away from Stanton as he could manage while remaining in the light of their shared fire.

“Business partners, a friendship?” Stanton tried when it became clear that James wasn’t going to elaborate. James shook his head, a small thing that was hardly noticeable.

This stumped Stanton, what other kind of relations were there? That was when the idea occurred to him.

“You were lovers.” James cringed when Stanton said it but didn’t try to deny it. He looked like he was ready to bolt, like he thought that Stanton might hurt him.

That wouldn’t do, it wouldn’t do at all.

“What happened when you told him?” Asked Stanton, and James looked confused at his lack of comment on his omission.

“Don’t you care?” James practically spat, voice filled with disgust but none of it was aimed at Stanton, this he knew.

“No.”

“You don’t care about much do you?” Cruelty came naturally to James when he was scared, like a cornered animal. Stanton would not be deterred by it, had come too far to lose to that.

“That ain’t true, and you know it.” Stanton replied easily, sending a rather pointed look in James’s direction. The man had the common decency to look ashamed, his nervous fidgeting intensifying. “I care a great deal about you, I’ll have you know.”

“What?” James asked, like he couldn’t quite comprehend the idea of somebody feeling anything of the sort for him. It made something resembling anger flare up within Stanton.

“You think I’d do this for anybody else?” Stanton replied, James flinched at the harshness in his voice.

“What happens to you matters to me, has mattered to me for a long time” Stanton tried again softer this time, and the look of fear upon James’s face morphed into one of shock.

Stanton needed to make him understand, had to make him understand.

He got up slowly, approaching James like one would approach a wild animal or a particularly skittish horse. He sat down in front of the man, reaching to take one of his hands in his own, something which James allowed with a jerky nod.

“You don’t have to tell me what he did to you.” Stanton spoke softly, giving James’s hand a squeeze with his own. “But I know it weren’t right, and you didn’t deserve it.” That was easy enough for Stanton to piece together, and if the bastard hadn’t already been dead Stanton might have been tempted to go back and make it so.

James nodded, but said nothing, seemingly only slipping further into despair.

Stanton dropped James’s hand immediately, moving to hold him instead. James went easily, letting his head rest on Stanton’s shoulder. They sat like that in silence for a while, enjoying the company of each other and the wilderness at night.

“My children, I can’t leave them.” A quite sob from James broke the quite that had fallen over them. He wrapped his arms around Stanton, like he was afraid that Stanton might get up and leave him at the mention of his family.

“We won’t, we’ll go get help.” Stanton said, patting the back of James’s head.

“Together?” James phrased it as a question.

“Together.” Stanton agreed, pressing a kiss to the top of James’s head.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Tamsen's + George's Dialogue are lifted directly from the book. 
> 
> Special thanks to my pal Ciarán who introduced me to The Hunger and gave me this idea for it, and also thanks to the rest of the crew on discord for the encouragement as always. 
> 
> You can follow me if you like @John-irving on tumblr.


End file.
